Supporting Honda
by Misura
Summary: Joey and Otogi put their difficulties aside to cheer for Honda in his first tournament. That was the ideal, anyway. [OtogiHonda, SetoJoey]
1. Beginning

Supporting Honda

-

Warnings/notes : Otogi/Honda, Seto/Joey, possibly slight Bakura/Ryou and Yami/Yugi, slightly silly.

Disclaimer : I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh. This fic was also inspired by a comment from hushpuppie1 in lj.

[!] Spoiler : if you know who Ryuuji Otogi/Duke Devlin is, this story will not spoil anything. If you don't, this story will spoil his identity, as well as the outcome of Duelist Kingdom.

written at 4th march 2004, by Misura

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He should have known better. Should have asked Yugi to come with him or something. Or Ryou, maybe, though that might have been risky too, with that psychotic yami of his being all protective and possessive about the boy. But Yugi would have been perfect.

"Does Kaiba know his puppy's running loose?"

"Oh, shut up, dice-boy! If it wasn't for Honda I'd - "

"You'd what? Let me dress you up in a dog-suit again? Face it, Wheeler, you're not smart enough to beat me."

"You ... you ... "

"And you're not my type anyway. Too empty-headed."

"That's ... "

"I really wonder what Kaiba sees in you, you know. I wouldn't have thought he'd be one to go for dumb blondes."

"You are sooo dead."

Honda squared his shoulders, sighingly deciding he'd better do something. After all, it was his own fault the two of them were here. If only he had been smart enough to make sure Joey -really- was out of earshot before telling Otogi about his entry in today's Duel Monsters-tournament, this whole mess would never have happened.

Unfortunately though, Joey -had- been able to overhear the news, promptly declaring he'd come to give advice and cheer for his friend. At which Otogi had snapped that -he-, as Honda's boyfriend, was much better suited for that job and that Joey's presence was neither needed nor wanted.

He had felt obliged to speak up for Joey then, since, well, they -were- good friends. But then Otogi had looked all sad, so he had added that, of course, Otogi was important to him as well. Thus, in the end, it had been decided that they'd both come along.

A biiig mistake, if ever he'd made one.

"Guys ... could you knock if off? Please?"

Two pairs of eyes stared at him, blinking as if having trouble to remember who he was again. Unsurprisingly, Otogi was the first to recover.

"Of course, Honda, anything for you! Although it was really all Joey's fault."

Equally unsurprisingly, that set Joey off all over again.

"It was not! -You- insulted my deck! And my boyfriend!"

"Guys! Can we go now? I don't want to be late."

"Sure, love. Don't let the barking of that ... puppy stop you." Otogi smiled.

Honda wondered if he'd still have a living boy-friend at the end of this day. Judging by the expression on Joey's face, the odds weren't too good.

"Zip it, dicey!"

Yes, he should have asked Yugi.

-----

By some sort of miracle, they arrived still in time for Honda to confirm his entry and receive his contestant's card. Otogi claimed it was thanks to his good luck. Joey, luckily, wasn't around to contest that, since he was busy deciding what to buy from the food-stand.

Honda almost dared to hope the rest of this day might run relatively smoothly, with Joey too busy eating and thinking about food to get into fights with Otogi and Otogi too distracted by his gorgeous, sexy boyfriend who desperately needed his help and support in the tournament to make any more insulting comments about Kaiba, the merits of Joey's deck or puppies in general.

Alas, it wasn't meant to be. The peace and quiet Honda so cherished lasted for exactly two-and-a-half minutes. Then Joey got it in his head that he might be better able to give Honda useful tips about playing if he'd get to see Honda's deck one more time.

Personally, Honda didn't mind. He knew his deck by heart, knew which cards worked best together, knew what strategies he was going to use against which type of opposing decks. And if browsing through his deck kept Joey happy and occupied for another ten minutes, that was a nice bonus. Plus, there always was the chance Joey might see something that had slipped Honda's mind.

After all, Joey -had- finished second in Duelist Kingdom. That had to mean -something-.

"Why should Honda let you see his deck? Your hands are still all sticky from that doughtnut you ate! Besides, it's not as if you could offer any kind of intelligent advise anyway." Otogi scoffed, swatting Joey's hand away as he reached for Honda's cards.

"I'll have you know that I finished -second- in Duelist Kingdom! That's more than you can say!" Joey snapped back. "And it's -Honda-'s deck, not yours. And he said it was okay."

"Hah!" Otogi sneered. "And who was it that crushed you so utterly and would have made you wear a dog-costume for a week if it hadn't been for Yugi saving your skin?"

"That was nothing but dumb luck!" Joey growled. Honda vainly wished he'd have made Otogi promise not to bring the topic of that dog-suit up today. It never failed to get Joey riled up. And it had gotten kind of old too, in Honda's opinion.

"-And- I am the unbeaten champion of Dungeon Dice Monsters," Otogi added smugly. Technically, that wasn't true, since Yugi had beaten him, but by invoking some obscure rule, Otogi had managed not to have to hand over his title. Yugi hadn't cared. Joey -had-, but with Yami jumping at people's throats if they so much as -sneezed- in Yugi's direction, he had wisely kept his mouth shut in Yugi's company.

"That's just because you created the game in the first place."

"Awww, are you very jealous of my genius? I bet the only game -you- ever thought up was 'Let's play lapdog to Kaiba'."

Honda was quite grateful that Joey's reply was drowned out by the sound of the bell that announced the start of the first round, followed by a list of which player was to play where.

-tbc-


	2. Ending

Supporting Honda

--

Warnings/notes : Otogi/Honda, Seto/Joey, slightly silly.

Disclaimer : I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh. This fic was also inspired by a comment from hushpuppie1 in lj.

Thanks to the people who reviewed the first chapter :

To JuniperMoon : Darn. I hadn't even –thought- of that. –sweatdrops guiltily-. Thank you! –smiles-

To Macbeth's Mistress : Thanks for the encouragement. –smiles-

To Amarin Rose : Thank you! I hope you'll like this second (and last) part as well. –smiles-

To DarkShadowFlame : -grins- Glad to hear you're enjoying the fic! –beams-

To Kaira-chan : Well, he does get to have Otogi as a boyfriend, so I consider him sufficiently compensated for everything I put him through. –sweatdrops- Thank you! –smiles-

To coolstory : Thank you, I did my best. –smiles-

To Scarlet Oasis : Well, I hope this second (and last) chapter won't disappoint your high expectations. –smiles- Thank you very much!

To Random Otogi fan : Thank you, I did my best. –smiles-

To Somnia Lustre : Hmm, I think this chapter will be something of a surprise then. I hope a good one. –smiles hopefully- Thank you!

To Aftertaste of a Razorblade : Of course everything will work out! At least for a day or so. –sweatdrops- Thank you! –smiles-

written at 12th march 2004, by Misura

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He won his first match. Though it was a close call. Close enough to cause Otogi and Joey to fall silent for a while, which did wonders for Honda's ability to keep his mind on the duel.

"I told you you were going to make it if you used that combo I taught you!" Joey grinned, slinging an arm around his shoulder. "Come on, let's go celebrate your first victory with a doughnut!"

"It was just good luck, really," Honda replied, acting modestly since his opponent was still able to hear them. "Without that Magic Card I drew in the last turn ... "

"With me at your side, -of course- Lady Luck is favoring you. Skill is no match for good fortune." Otogi glared at Joey. Honda decided that now might be a good time to strategically shrug off Joey's arm.

"And what's -that- supposed to mean, huh?" Joey demanded. "Duel Monsters happens to be a game that requires strategy and intelligence. Which is why -I- finished second in Duelist Kingdom, while -you- are nothing but an amateur."

Honda wondered how many times Joey was going to remind them of that. And how many times Otogi was going to strike back by using the 'dog-costume-incident'.

"Uhm, guys, let's just go get something to eat, okay?" Honda proposed, before Otogi could reply to Joey's statement. "My treat." If there was one thing that would get Joey running, it was the prospect of free food. And, well, maybe if he won, he wouldn't be completely broke by the end of the tournament.

"All right!" Joey really did look like an over-enthusiastic puppy sometimes, Honda mused.

"You two can go ahead. I have an urgent phone-call to make," Otogi put in.

"What - " Honda began, before Joey dragged him away. Ah well, maybe it was better not to know. He'd probably find out what Otogi was up to sooner or later anyway. And knowing Otogi, 'later' was the option Honda preferred.

-----

Otogi looked smug when he rejoined them. Or maybe 'smugger' was the more correct term, considering Otogi usually looked smug already.

"I'm going to get a drink. Honda, can I get you anything?" Joey rose, pointedly ignoring Otogi. Which was, Honda readily admitted, a whole lot better than Joey not ignoring Otogi.

"No thanks," he shook his head. Otogi's smile warned him his boyfriend was about to say something. Honda felt justified to kick him under the table, as some sort of pre-emptive strike.

Joey left, while Otogi sent Honda a hurt glance. "What did you have to do -that- for? I wasn't doing or saying -anything-."

"Just making sure you kept it that way," Honda mumbled, suppressing the feeling of guilt that Otogi's look was giving him. He -knew- Otogi was just faking it. He hadn't kicked -that- hard.

"Hmph," Otogi huffed, abandoning his 'you wound me deeply'-expression and replacing it by a 'you are an idiot' one. "Why did you have to invite him along anyway?"

"He's my best friend. And I wish you'd stop acting like two little children!" Honda burst out. Not in tears, though he might, from sheer frustration. "Is it really so much to ask for you two to just ... get along? For one day?"

"Yes." Otogi shrugged. "It's not my fault anyway. Joey's just a mutt."

"No, he's not," Honda replied sharply. "And who did you have to call anyway? I thought you had arranged everything so that you could spend this whole day with me."

It wasn't that Honda didn't trust Otogi, but he did feel like he wasn't going to win the 'Joey's my best buddy so knock off the insults already'-argument, so he preferred a change in subject.

"I called the asylum, to inform them there was a rabid dog on the loose."

Honda choked on his drink. "You didn't!" he sputtered.

Otogi smirked, patting Honda on the back. "Don't worry, Honda, I guarantee you that Joey won't mind. In fact, if he finds out, he might even thank me."

"I doubt that," Honda muttered darkly. "I doubt that very much."

"Your lack of faith in me wounds me deeply," Otogi declared.

-----

Joey frowned. He was sure he had memorized the table where Honda and Otogi had been sitting, but now that table was taken by a pair of giggling girls. In theory, he might be staring at the wrong table, of course, since it was rather crowded in here, making it easy to get confused about directions.

Realizing that he might have walked astray didn't help him much in finding back the right location of his two friends - make that his -one- friend and an annoying dice-freak - though.

With a sigh, Joey decided his best chance in refinding Honda would be to simply wait for the next round of the tournament. It couldn't be too long now. He might as well find a nice, quiet spot to finish his drink, and maybe buy another doughnut.

If it had been just Honda and him, Joey wouldn't have given up so easily. Yet with Otogi around, he was sure Honda wouldn't mind too much. His friend might even be glad of having some time alone with Otogi, inasfar as they could be 'alone' in this place.

Joey might not like Otogi one bit -to put it mildly- but he wasn't blind to the fact that Honda -did-. Or that Otogi seemed to like Honda quite a lot too. Enough to drop all plans he'd had for this day, just to come along to cheer for Honda, in spite of Dungeon Dice Monsters still being in need of quite some work.

Would Seto have done the same for him? Assuming for one moment that Seto wouldn't be organizing or participating in the tournament in question, would the CEO cancel his appointments and leave his laptop and cellphone behind merely to support Joey?

The answer to that, Joey decided, was a most definite 'no'. If he was lucky, and Seto was in a good mood, perhaps he'd get an 'I'm sorry'.

Buying two doughnuts as a consolation, Joey wandered out of the building, deciding the only place where he'd be able to find some peace and quiet was going to be outside.

As he sagged down on a bench, feeling rather tired all of a sudden, he didn't notice the footsteps behind him. Until the bag of doughnuts was snatched out of his hands.

"What - " Joey began, finding the energy to jump up and spin around with his fists raised and ready to fight for his doughnuts in under half a second.

"These are bad for you, puppy. I thought I told you to eat them less," Seto said coolly. There was, for the observant on-looker, a slight sparkle in his eyes.

"I'll eat what I want to and as much as I want to," Joey snapped, grabbing the bag back and wolfing down one of the doughnuts to emphasize his point. And well, also because he was hungry. "What are you doing here anyway?"

"A canceled meeting." Seto didn't sound too annoyed.

"Hmm." Joey sat back down, tearing the doughnut in two halves and offering the smallest one to Seto. "I'm glad you're here. Otogi was really getting on my nerves."

Ignoring the food, Seto accepted the unspoken invitation to sit down next to Joey.

"Funny you should say that, considering he's the one who called me to tell me there was, how did he put it again? Ah yes, 'a rabid puppy in need of someone with a collar and a leash'."

Joey growled. "Remind me to kill him later."

"Before or after I've dragged you off to my mansion?" Seto inquired.

"Don't ask stupid questions like that."

-----

"I don't think Joey's going to show up anymore this afternoon." Otogi was wearing that smugger-than-smug look again, Honda noticed, looking up from shuffling his deck.

"Why not?" Honda asked suspiciously.

"Just a hunch." Otogi grinned.

"Otogi ... " Honda started, warningly.

"I think the puppy got collected by its owner." Otogi chuckled at Honda's stunned expression.

"-You- convinced Kaiba to come and ... "

Otogi made a small bow. "Honesty compels me to admit he wasn't too hard to convince, but, yes, I did inform Kaiba where to find our dear friend Joey. You can thank me later ... in private."

Honda shook his head. "I don't believe this."

"Try to concentrate on the upcoming duel," Otogi advised him. "Express your astonishment at my many talents later."

"Only a complete -idiot- would try to mix in Kaiba and Joey's relationship. Are you suicidal or something?" Honda demanded.

OWARI


End file.
